A conventional van-type vehicle typically has at least one side door slidably mounted for movement between a closed position in a door opening and an opened position wherein the door extends along the outer side surface of the vehicle. The door typically is slidably connected to an upper track located in the door opening (near the vehicle roof), a lower track located in the door opening (near the sill area), and a third waist-high center track located in the vehicle side wall to the rear of the door opening.
The vehicle door has arm structure extending into each track, such that the door has multiple-point slidable support on the vehicle. The travel of the door between the open and closed positions is somewhat limited because the forward arm structure for the lower track necessarily extends through the door opening.
Each of the arm structures can travel horizontally only the distance between the front and rear edges of the door opening, less the horizontal cross-sectional dimension of each arm structure. Therefore, when the door is in the fully opened position, the door opening will still be partially obstructed.
The problem of door opening access efficiency is of particular concern in compact vans wherein the slidable door has a rear edge that is cut away (or contoured) to follow the contour of the rear wheel well (tire clearance space). In such compact vans, the lower edge of the slidable door is considerably shorter than the door upper edge. The shorter door lower edge limits door travel so that a significant portion of the door opening remains covered when the slidable door is in the fully opened position.
In compact vans, the limited door opening results in inadequate aisle clearance for comfortable and unobstructed access to the rearmost seats or cargo area.
In many compact vans, there are no articulated seats that slide and tip completely forward to clear the aisle or path to the rear seats. Thus, a partially obstructed side door opening in a compact van is particularly troublesome. Often there are no grab handles at critical locations to aid in ingress and egress of a passenger into and out of the rear seats.